Information for Judges

Role of a Judge
As a Judge your role in the competition is to act as a Judge for cases which are scheduled to be heard in the court. The mock trial is to be conducted according to the rules followed by Judges in the courts.

The rules of evidence and rules of procedure have been simplified to enable students to understand the process (please ensure that you are familiar with the competition Manual).

Of course, in competitions such as this where the students, teachers and coaches put in a lot of time and effort, a fierce competitive spirit may develop. It is not always possible to anticipate and prevent situations in which that spirit may manifest itself, e.g. students who try to defeat their opponents with procedural tactics.

We are looking to the Judges to maintain control of the proceedings and deal with such situations as they arise. While initiative is to be encouraged, Judges are requested to exercise their discretion to ensure that such clever tricks do not operate to defeat the spirit of the competition.

The Judge's decision is final in all cases.


Case Material

Witness Statements
Witnesses must not refer to their statements or any other written material while giving evidence at the mock trial. Neither notes nor written material may be taken into the witness box. If a witness forgets evidence contained in their statement, it is the responsibility of the barrister to ask questions to prompt the witness. As a last resort, the Judge may read out any evidence omitted by the witness.

Marks will not be awarded to a witness who reads their statement or refers to their written statement on the night.

The entire witness statement must be presented in court. Witnesses are not permitted to omit sections of the statement where they feel it contains inadmissible evidence. This emphasises the necessity for judges to be familiar with the statements and aware of their right to insist that all the facts be presented to the court. A Judge may ask a witness questions to extract evidence that was forgotten or omitted by the witness.

Only exhibits, documents, legal precedents and information contained in the case material are permitted to be used during the mock trial. All exhibits must be entered into evidence at trial.

Notes are not permitted to be passed from witnesses to barristers or solicitors.


Objections
We are endeavouring to make the Judge's role as straightforward as possible. Accordingly, the nature of the objections that may be taken by the barristers has been confined to those matters set out in the Evidence chapter of the Manual (i.e. relevance evidence, opinion evidence, hearsay evidence, character evidence, direct speech and leading questions). Only objections based upon those mock rules of evidence may be used.

Both teams must use all statements and exhibits provided in the case material. This gives barristers the opportunity to show their understanding of the rules of evidence by way of objections.

Objections may be raised as to entering exhibits contained in the case material into evidence. However, all exhibits provided in the case material are to be entered into evidence at the trial regardless of objections. This modification is made because of the time limitation and restriction of witnesses that can be called.


Precedents
Precedents other than those provided in the case material are not to be used or referred to in submissions.


Scoring
It is the responsibility of the prosecution/plaintiff team teacher to provide a blank score sheet and a completed copy of the Notice of Appearance to the Judge at their mock trial.

Time limits must be strictly adhered to. The Judges may at their discretion deduct points if a team member exceeds their time limit. If there is a breach of time limits, the Judges are requested to read out the remainder of the evidence not yet given.

To assist the Judge in allocating scores for objections and responses to objections, the Judge's associate will keep a list of objections. Similarly, a time sheet will be kept by the court orderly so that if barristers are unduly long in their examination or cross-examination the court orderly can bring this to the attention of the magistrate.

Judges will need to check the solicitor's notes and award marks for content, questions written down which could assist Counsel and their active participation in the trial.

Judges will need to check the Judge's Associate's time sheet and objection sheet and Court Orderly's time sheet and award marks for content.

Judges are encouraged to question the barristers on their depth of understanding of the law and the case during their opening and closing addresses, particularly during the latter rounds. This ensures that the barristers do not rely solely on addresses prepared in advance.

However, please remember that the barristers are high school students who are often participating in their first mock trial. They might be nervous, particularly when asked questions by the Judge. Judges are therefore requested to bear this in mind when assessing the barristers' impromptu answers.

Judges are encouraged to give a short judgement at the end of the trial and encourage students by giving suggestions on presentation, court procedure, objections, cross examination etc, particularly during the earlier rounds.

It is the responsibility of the winning team teacher to ensure the score sheet is completed and checked thoroughly and signed by the magistrate/judge and a teacher or coach from each team on the night.

Please find below a brief Outline of Order of Trial Proceedings and a Guideline for Judges. This information is particularly useful (together with the Manual) if you need to arrange for another legal practitioner to adjudicate your trial at short notice.

Summary of Trial Procedure
The procedures of the Mock Trial Competition are modified to suit the participants and time limitation. Mock trial procedures must be adhered to. Failure to do so may disadvantage a team.

Prior to the trial, Judges should make themselves familiar with the case material. In particular the witness statements to ensure that the entire witness statement is presented in court (see information on Witness Statements).

Ensure you have a copy of the competition Manual with you. Extra copies of the Manual are available from the Mock Trial Coordinator on request and on the night of the trial.

The prosecution/plaintiff team teacher will provide you with a blank score sheet and a completed copy of the Notice of Appearance. It is important to be familiar with the score sheet before the trial commences. It is also suggested that you bring a calculator.

Score the individual participant's performance on the score sheet.

Time limits must be strictly adhered to. The Judge may in their discretion deduct points if a team member exceeds their time limit.

Judges are encouraged to question the barristers on their depth of understanding of the law and the case during their opening and closing addresses, particularly during the latter rounds. This would ensure that the barristers were not relying solely on addresses prepared in advance.

Provide a brief judgement after closing addresses

Before announcing the winner please check the following: 

 
Announce the winner of the mock trial.

No draws are allowed.

The winning team teacher is to ensure the score sheet is completed and checked thoroughly and signed by the Magistrate/Judge and a teacher or coach from each team on the night. The score sheet is to be taken by the winning team teacher.

The decision of the Judge is final in all cases.

Trials must conclude by the specified time of 8.30pm.